Nyxfall 7: The Veilbreakers

Kai gripped his crude wooden bow so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His quiver held only a handful of arrows, each looking more pitiful than the last—splintered shafts and dull iron tips, barely worth the effort of drawing.

Across from him, Deimos Emperium exhaled slowly, mist curling from her lips like ghostly vapor. The green energy burst forth so quickly that Kai barely registered it—a fleeting shimmer sweeping over the forest floor. Yet, as it passed through him, he felt nothing. No resistance, no impact. It simply faded, leaving him untouched.

"Tch." Deimos shifted her stance, adjusting her grip on the jagged dagger she held. "You resist my breath, huh? Lucky you."

"Not luck," Kai muttered, nocking an arrow. "It's pure skill." Spouting random bullshit. 

He let it fly. The weak string barely gave it any force, and Deimos twisted her body, the arrow skimming past her ribs before thudding into a nearby tree. She lunged, bare feet light on the forest floor, her dagger flashing toward him in a quick arc.

Kai barely had time to roll away, his shoulder scraping against rough bark as he fumbled for another arrow. He loosed it mid-motion, but Deimos batted it aside with the flat of her blade, the weapon's dull edge sparking against the brittle wood.

They clashed again, her dagger swiping for his throat, his bow raised just in time to absorb the hit. The wooden frame cracked under the force, but it held. Barely.

For minutes, they traded blows—her dagger against his flimsy defense, his arrows fired in desperation, each one dodged, deflected, or simply too weak to do real damage. They were low-level, their attacks sluggish, their strikes lacking the power of seasoned warriors.

Yet neither fell. Neither could gain the upper hand.

Deimos exhaled another misty breath, the green energy flaring outward in a ripple. Kai ignored it, rushing forward with his bow held like a makeshift staff. She pivoted, dodging with a dancer's grace, but his next strike caught her forearm, forcing her back a step.

"You're annoying," she admitted, shaking out her wrist.

"You're too weak," he shot back, panting.

Then, as if by mutual agreement, they both slowed. Their weapons lowered, shoulders rising and falling with exhaustion.

Deimos snorted, flipping her dagger between her fingers before tucking it away. "Alright, weakling. Let's call it a tie."

Kai exhaled sharply, letting his bow hang at his side. "Fine by me. As long as you leave me alone, I'll believe your lies."

She glared daggers at him. Kai remained unflinching. Her movements matched his in technique, but without the power behind their strikes that they once held, neither could overpower the other. Still, Kai felt that if he had his longsword, he would have had the upper hand. The three skills he could learn wouldn't help here either, and he didn't want to waste the SP like that.

Her voice came again. "We can fight each other, kill each other, and revive in the village just to do it all over again. Because I'm not leaving you alone without that item in my hand. You have two choices—spend the whole night paranoid, wondering from which corner I'll strike, and in the end, neither of us will gain any levels. Instead, we'll lose them by dying."

She wasn't wrong. Still, Kai couldn't forget who he was talking to.

"And the other choice?" he asked.

"Let's just see what your item reveals. Who knows? Maybe it's too much for either of us alone, and we can do the hidden quest together." She stored her dagger in her clothes and crossed her arms.

Kai didn't want anything to do with her, but he also didn't want to spend the whole night hiding or hunting each other. He needed to level up fast. She didn't know who he really was—but he did, and he would never trust her.

Still, this way, he could get more information on her. He couldn't deny her fighting skills. If this trial had powerful monsters, maybe he could use her to get the rewards.

"Fine," he admitted. "But all the items will be mine. It's my quest, after all."

"It won't be if I knock all your teeth out!" she snapped. "Whoever gets it first keeps the rewards."

"Tsk." Kai squinted at her but eventually nodded. "Maintain ten meters of distance from me at all times."

"I was just about to say that, insect!" she shot back.

Kai took the toy wooden sword out of his inventory. It wasn't glowing anymore. He walked back to the place where he had jumped down from the tree and turned around with the sword in hand. At last, when he faced northeast, the sword began glowing blue again.

It was supposed to guide a person to the trial. Without hesitation, Kai started walking in the direction it pointed.

Of course, he kept a firm eye on his unlikely companion. So far, she maintained the distance. They walked in silence, constantly eyeing each other, the moonlight illuminating their path through the forest. Kai avoided monsters and beasts—not difficult, as they encountered few near the village; the creepy sounds mostly were coming from the deeper part of the forest.

After walking for some fifteen minutes, he spoke. "Why were you following me? You never answered."

"Why should I?" she replied, amused by his insistence.

Kai didn't remember Deimos Emperium being this petty in his past life. Back then, he barely showed any emotion at all though. This one seemed to enjoy playing with him.

Then she asked, "Why were you following me?"

"Huh?" Kai frowned in confusion.

"After that thing crashed in the village this morning, you followed me to my hut and creepily listened in. Why would you do that to a total stranger? Even for an insect, that's a weird thing to do."

She knew! And she pretended like it was nothing!

This girl—or guy, whatever they were—was too sharp! Kai didn't know how to reply. Still, he muttered at last, using her own trick against her and ignoring her question entirely.

"Why do you call me 'insect'?"

She glared at him, clearly not amused that he was dodging her questions.

"Only insects can't use mana. On our **** only insects can't use it!" she replied after a few seconds of silence.

That confirmed it. She was just like him. She knew about humans, and she knew their planet had no such thing as mana. She had memories of her previous timeline. That beeped-out word had to be "planet." On her planet, only insects couldn't use mana.

She was the same Deimos Emperium. But why had that towering, muscular figure suddenly become a woman? Had Deimos Emperium always been a woman?

Fuck! What was he even thinking? This was no time for such nonsense!

Before Kai could ask her anything more, they had already arrived in front of a stone cave-like structure, hidden behind dense vegetation. Its entrance was veiled in dark, shadowy smoke.

When Kai brought the glowing white sword near the darkness, the shadows began to shift, parting to create an opening. He considered leaving Deimos behind, but as if she had read his thoughts, she instantly moved closer, her grip tightening on her dagger.

With a tsk, Kai stepped into the hidden dungeon, Deimos following close behind.